MODESTO, Calif.—About 150,000 hens at egg producer J.S. West Inc.appear to have scored an upgrade.

They cluck and cackle in an air-conditioned henhouse that got a $3.2million renovation this year. Some lay eggs in nesting areas, wherelights are dimmed. Others poise on perches with room to flap theirwings. They even have hen-style nail files in their cages.

California's egg farmers are struggling to comply with Proposition 2,the state's new guidelines on how egg-laying chickens can be kept.

Two years after California voters approved a law designed to createhumane standards for farm animals, it isn't clear if these hens areleading lives of luxury—or being treated cruelly.

The law, known as Proposition 2, doesn't take effect until 2015, butit is already generating confusion among egg producers who aren't sureif they need to get bigger cages like those at J.S. West or let thehens roam free. As a result, few have made any changes at all.

The law mandates that egg-laying hens must be able to fully extendtheir limbs, lie down and turn in a circle within their enclosures.Michigan approved similar regulations last year, and gave eggproducers 10 years to make changes. Other states—including Ohio,Arizona and Florida—have adopted less restrictive regulations.

The California requirements have proven resistant to uniforminterpretation. "Who knows what the law states," said Debbie Murdock,executive director of the Association of California Egg Farmers, whichhas called for clearer guidelines.

There is also ambiguity over how the law is going to be enforced, or by whom.

According to California state legislators, no decision has been madeon who will have the final say; possibilities include the Departmentof Food and Agriculture and the Department of Public Health.

Now the confusion is set to be exported to neighboring states.Responding to worries that Proposition 2 would drive egg productionaway from California and result in massive out-of-state egg imports,Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation last month extending thecaging requirements to all eggs sold in California, no matter wherethey were laid.

"Many propositions have the best of intentions, but they suffer fromthe lack of thorough vetting and deliberative process necessary toanswer tough questions about how they're going to actually beimplemented and enforced," said Assemblyman Jared Huffman, who wrotethe bill extending the regulations to all eggs sold in the state inorder to level the playing field.

J.S. West spent $3.2 million to install bigger cages, known asenriched colony systems, in one of its henhouses in Modesto, Calif.

California ranks fifth among states in egg production, with an averageof 4.9 billion eggs a year valued at $300 million. That's roughly 5%of the nation's egg output. About a third of the eggs consumed byCalifornians are from out of state, but most of those are eggs thathave been processed for other foods, such as pasta. The laws applyonly to intact eggs.

J.S. West responded to the requirements by upgrading one of itsbuildings with the more spacious, furnished cages, known as enrichedcolony systems.

The Humane Society of the U.S., a main sponsor of Proposition 2, saysthe company made a big mistake.

"It's just a common-sense sort of view that a slightly bigger cage isgoing to continue to frustrate the natural behavior of laying hens,"said the group's president, Wayne Pacelle.

Mr. Pacelle says the only way to comply with the new laws is to gocage-free, because, he asserts, no commercially viable cages inexistence—including the enriched colony system—give hens the room toperform the behaviors described in the law.

According to research cited by his organization, hens need 138 squareinches each to fully stretch their wings. Enriched colony systemsprovide each hen with 116 square inches per hen. The United EggProducers, a trade association representing most of the nation's eggproducers, recommends 67 square inches.

Egg Recall Tied to Salmonella GrowsJ.S. West President Eric Benson says his company has done enough:"These cages go way beyond the Prop. 2 requirements."

The new cages are four feet wide and 12 feet long for 60 hens each,providing about twice as much space as traditional "battery" systems,in which up to 10 hens are kept in an area the size of a large drawer.J.S. West keeps only six hens in the traditional cages of itsunrenovated barns, but they still trample and slap each other whenmoving around.

Adding to the uncertainty, the American Humane Association hascertified enriched colony housing as a humane alternative. TheAmerican Humane Association is a nonprofit independent group foundedin 1877 with the oldest U.S. certification program for the humanetreatment of farm animals. The new cages are set to become the minimumrequirement in Europe in 2012.

J.S. West points to this as proof that its cages are big enough. Mr.Benson says the cages are actually too big—that there is wasted space.Despite their more spacious digs, the hens just cluster together mostof the time, Mr. Benson said.

The company is reluctant to renovate all 15 of the barns it maintainsaround the state, housing a total of 1.8 million hens, until it knowsfor sure the new system is going to be deemed compliant.

Mr. Pacelle's organization regularly exposes animal cruelty throughinformants and photographic evidence from puppy mills, dog-fightingfacilities, and more. He says he's prepared to do the same when itcomes to California egg producers who continue to house their hens inillegal cages come 2015. Violators of the new law can be prosecutedwith a $1,000 fine or a 180-day jail sentence.

John Lewis Jr., president of Farmer John Eggs in Bakersfield, says hedoesn't know what to do with his small, family-run company's 600,000hens. He doesn't want to put them in a cage-free environment because,he says, they would be running around in their own feces and he wouldhave to feed them antibiotics.

Plus, when they are on the ground, he said, "If something scares them,they all run into a corner and pile on top of each other and suffocatevery quickly."

There's also a pecking order to account for, he says. In cages, he cangroup little hens with little hens to keep big hens from killing them.Not so in a cage-free environment, he says.

But he doesn't want to put them in enriched colony systems, either.His family can't afford investing in a system that may end up beingunacceptable.

The veterinarians & the folks who spend a lifetime practicing animal husbandry are being overshadowed by know nothing ARA fanatics who culture spineless politicians into sponsoring these initiatives. The consumer will pay dearly for believing the ara propaganda.

The veterinarians & the folks who spend a lifetime practicing animal husbandry are being overshadowed by know nothing ARA fanatics who culture spineless politicians into sponsoring these initiatives. The consumer will pay dearly for believing the ara propaganda.

The danger of initiatives in these kinds of issues is that they don't NEED politicians to sponsor them. All the antis have to do is get X number of signatures on a petition, and it goes on the ballot for a state-wide vote. They almost got the public land trapping issue on the ballot in Montana. Didn't have quite enough signatures on the petition, but it was too close for comfort.

The veterinarians & the folks who spend a lifetime practicing animal husbandry are being overshadowed by know nothing ARA fanatics who culture spineless politicians into sponsoring these initiatives. The consumer will pay dearly for believing the ara propaganda.

The danger of initiatives in these kinds of issues is that they don't NEED politicians to sponsor them. All the antis have to do is get X number of signatures on a petition, and it goes on the ballot for a state-wide vote. They almost got the public land trapping issue on the ballot in Montana. Didn't have quite enough signatures on the petition, but it was too close for comfort.

When such things happen the folks who have evolved into the best possible managers of domesticated & wildlife animals plus the veternarians who made a career of raising healthy animals get pushed aside by emotionally driven folks that have NO concept of animal husbandry.

Does anyone read this, or do you just see the name Pacelle and think its all bad. "The new cages are four feet wide and 12 feet long for 60 hens each,providing about twice as much space as traditional "battery" systems,in which up to 10 hens are kept in an area the size of a large drawer." 48 square feet for 60 hens???? My chicken house was larger and I had less hens, and they had the whole farmlot to wander. That is the only humane way to raise chickens. Amazing how prejudice some of the posters on this site are, I'll bet none of us raise chickens that way!

Does anyone read this, or do you just see the name Pacelle and think its all bad. "The new cages are four feet wide and 12 feet long for 60 hens each,providing about twice as much space as traditional "battery" systems,in which up to 10 hens are kept in an area the size of a large drawer." 48 square feet for 60 hens???? My chicken house was larger and I had less hens, and they had the whole farmlot to wander. That is the only humane way to raise chickens. Amazing how prejudice some of the posters on this site are, I'll bet none of us raise chickens that way!

I've been on a lot of commercial chicken farms. When I was in high school the FFA used to earn money by catching chickens and loading them on trucks. I never saw a single cage, the chickens were raised on the floors of very large sheds. There were huge flocks, but they were free to walk around, warm and had plenty of food and water.

Do you believe everything Pacelle says?

Edited by Ole Hawkeye (08/25/1007:30 AM)

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It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, but only 3 for a proper trigger squeeze.

Of course not, but I do know that egg laying hens are kept in very small cages, and this is not the right way to raise chickens. By the way, I spend an extra 50 cents to a buck for free range eggs. And I don't believe everything that Mira says either. Most people with that kind of vengence distort the truth to support their side, and I'm also pretty sure the guy could grow worms in the conditions given.

Of course not, but I do know that egg laying hens are kept in very small cages, and this is not the right way to raise chickens. By the way, I spend an extra 50 cents to a buck for free range eggs. And I don't believe everything that Mira says either. Most people with that kind of vengence distort the truth to support their side, and I'm also pretty sure the guy could grow worms in the conditions given.

I didn't write the article Aleman but I do know that Wayne Pacelle has stated publically that he hopes to end the domestication of animals in one generation. Making stuff to expensive to buy and to raise is the path he has chosen. I also know that Wayne Pacelle stated publically that the H$U$ most likely hired him because he is good at making stuff up. I also know Veternarians questioned on H$U$ propaganda feel farmers & ranchers are in tune with animal husbandry while H$U$ is not.

Of course not, but I do know that egg laying hens are kept in very small cages, and this is not the right way to raise chickens. By the way, I spend an extra 50 cents to a buck for free range eggs. And I don't believe everything that Mira says either. Most people with that kind of vengence distort the truth to support their side, and I'm also pretty sure the guy could grow worms in the conditions given.

The last thing I am in life is a liar Aleman but you seem to like to distort that TRUTH. What you class as vengence is a lie. I am offering folks an opportunity to take note of how to see where ARA propaganda has made animal use a evil enterprise if folks make money from it.

Does anyone read this, or do you just see the name Pacelle and think its all bad. "The new cages are four feet wide and 12 feet long for 60 hens each,providing about twice as much space as traditional "battery" systems,in which up to 10 hens are kept in an area the size of a large drawer." 48 square feet for 60 hens???? My chicken house was larger and I had less hens, and they had the whole farmlot to wander. That is the only humane way to raise chickens. Amazing how prejudice some of the posters on this site are, I'll bet none of us raise chickens that way!

I've been on a lot of commercial chicken farms. When I was in high school the FFA used to earn money by catching chickens and loading them on trucks. I never saw a single cage, the chickens were raised on the floors of very large sheds. There were huge flocks, but they were free to walk around, warm and had plenty of food and water.

Do you believe everything Pacelle says?

And once they are maintained in that open barn concept as meat hens Pacelle and company attack those farmers for the debeaking process in the hopes of ending the open space application of such operations. Yet we know that debeaking is needed because chicks and hens do attack and kill their mates on a regular bases.

I don't believe everything that Mira says either. Most people with that kind of vengence distort the truth to support their side,

Well then it shouldn't be hard for you to go through Mira's posts and give us an example of a distortion that he has posted, should it?

We already know H$U$ and Pacelle, that you seem to think so highly of, has never distorted the truth.

What Aleman classes as vengence is my ability to point out fallacies within Wayne's propaganda and point out that his game plan is to end all animal husbandry in wildlife or domestic managent of animals. Thanks for noting that Aleman made an Ad Homiem attack without one iota of proof or supportive commentary which I could answer to, Hawkeye.

Aleman might class those factors as vengeful distortion but the truth is the egg folk had to spend 3 million dollars on H$U$ schemes. Yet Pacelle is still not supportive because his plan is to end domestication of hens and make them to expensive for farmers to raise & consumers not as likely to buy dairy and egg products due to increased costs.

As for free range. Overall that is the worst science that could be offered to feed 6.5 billion people. Harder to control disease & more likely to add most polluant values back into our rivers, lakes & streams as those billions of hens run free range instead of controlled environments of large chicken barns.

[color:#000099]"Actually these self righteous wing nuts thrive on hate mongering THE people who use the earth to support life. They also feel they can build up themselves as super heroes by dragging everyone else through the mud & slime." This says nothing to prove anything, except you think you can convince others by name calling. Ain't saying these people are right, just saying your showing how stupid you are.[/color]

The hit and run ad homiem purveyor never did answer this post which I made in pointing out why I have a problem with folks making a living off animal use being hate mongered by folks like ruckus..

I made a obvious point in my statement regarding the reason ruckus do hate monger folks making economic gain on this planet. For that effort you indicate I am stupid and in so doing without any counter debate, you have done what you accused me of. In fact you even went so far as to make the remark that you ain't saying these people are right but that I am stupid for making the point that they are showing themselves to be self righteous hypocrits. In fact their use of the internet in offering their game plan shows how selectively hypocritical they are.

If he wishes to appear reasonable maybe he should do better then he has in these two cases.

Worms do more for araeting soil, and digesting dead plant material than any ungulate. And while your general rules of grazing are true, but are not followed on the range lands in the western USA. That land is truly abused by the cattlemen and shepards while being subsidized by the US taxpayer. They put there herds out on the land, say they are in an area where its 160 acres to a cow/calf. You have 100 scare miles, hence theoritcal room for 400 cows with calves. The cows won't travel too far from water, so now you have 400 cow/calf pairs grazing on only 25 square miles. The land is overgrazed and abused. Having worked for the Forest Service out west, I spent many long hours building fences so that cattle can be rotated and/or fenced out of special places. Not one rancher so much as bought me a beer or paid any more of my salary than some guy in a penthouse in New York City.

Well, since you worked for the Forest service yu must be aware that each area is alloted no more cow calf pairs than the land will support, and there is usually several water sourced on each allotment. The land is not overgrazed and abused.

Why in the world should a rancher buy you a beer? And he did pay more of your salary than a guy in a penthouse in New York City. If you didn't know that the ranchers pay the government per head per day for grazing rights, you either don't know as much as you want us to think you do, or you are passing mis-information.

Once again, I will ask, what's your agenda?

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It takes 43 muscles to frown, 17 to smile, but only 3 for a proper trigger squeeze.